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Hong Ma

Distinguished Professor of Biology

Office: 405D Life Sciences
Phone: 863-6414
Lab Address: 416 Life Sciences
Lab Phone: 865-3438
Contact: Hong Ma
 Hong Ma

Education

  • Ph.D., MIT, 1988
  • B.A., Temple, 1983

Postdoc Training

  • Caltech, 1988-1990

Honors and Awards

  • Faculty Scholars Medal in Life and Health Sciences, 2005
  • Guggenheim Fellowship 2004-2005
  • American Cancer Society Junior Faculty Research Award 1994-1997
  • Helen Hay Whitney Post-Doctoral Fellowship (resigned 7/90-3/91) 1988-1991
  • Gosney Post-doc Fellowship, Division of Biology, Calif. Inst. of Techn. 1988
  • Graduate Fellowship, Department of Biology, Mass. Inst. of Tech. 1983-1984

Research Interests

Flower development and its evolution; meiosis and pollen development

Our lab is interested in understanding plant reproductive development at the molecular level, using the laboratory plant Arabidopsis thaliana as the experimental system. We approach this problem largely with molecular and genetic tools. In flowering plants, reproductive development encompasses a range of stages from floral meristem formation to fertilization.

One of our research emphases is the analysis of regulatory genes controlling early flower development using both mutants and transgenic plants carrying altered genes. Some of these genes encode putative transcription factors; in particular, we are interested in understanding the function of the AGAMOUS gene at the molecular level. In addition, we are studying a family of genes (called ASK genes) that may regulate protein turnover during development. One of them, ASK1, regulates both vegetative and flower development. We have recently begun to examine flower development from an evolutionary perspective, in collaboration with Prof. Claude dePamphilis in our department and others. A second focus in our lab is aimed at understanding genes important for male meiosis and pollen development. Meiosis is an important reproductive process in eukaryotes. We have discovered several new genes important for Arabidopsis meiosis. Although these genes share sequence similarity with genes in other eukaryotes, their functions in meiosis were not previously revealed. Therefore, we may have discovered novel regulators of meiosis. We are very excited about the opportunities to study meiotic genes using genetic and molecular tools, as well as cytological approaches. We are also interested in signal transduction and G protein function in plant development. We previously isolated genes encoding putative alpha and beta subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. We are particularly interested in their potential roles during reproductive development.

We welcome interactions from members of the biological science community about topics of mutual interests, including collaborations of various extents. We encourage graduate and undergraduate students to visit our lab to learn more about our research, and we have research opportunities at different levels. Inquiries about positions at various levels are welcome.

Selected Publications

Quan, L.*, Xiao, R.*, Li, W., Oh, S.-A., Ambrose, J.C., Cyr, R., Twell, D., Ma, H. 2008. Functionally divergence of the duplicated Arabidopsis AtKIN14a and AtKIN14b genes: critical roles in meiosis and gametophyte development. Plant J. 53: 1013-1026. (Equal contribution)


Hord, C.L.H., Ma, H. 2007. Genetic control of anther cell division and differentiation. In Verma, D.P.S, Hong, Z. Eds. Cell Division Control in Plants. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg. (invited book chapter).

Ito, T., Nagata, N., Yoshiba, Y., Ohme-Takagi, M., Ma, H.*, Shinozaki, K.* 2007. The Arabidopsis MALE STERILITY1 (MS1) gene encoding a PHD-type transcription factor regulates pollen exine development. Plant Cell. 19: 3549-3562. (* Co-corresponding authors)

Kong, H., Frohlick, M., Leebens-Mack, J., Ma, H. dePamphilis, C. 2007. Rapid birth of plant SKP1 genes by tandem duplication and retrotransposition. Plant J. 50: 873-885.

Lin, Z. Nei, M., Ma, H. 2007. Evolution of MutS -like genes: Multiple ancient subfamilies and co-evolution between MutS and MutL genes. Nucleic Acids Res. 35: 7591-7603.

Soltis, D.E., Ma, H., Frohlich, M.W., Soltis, P.S., Albert, V.A., Oppenheimer, D.G., Altman, N.S., dePamphilis, C.W., Leebens-Mack, J.H. 2007. The Floral Genome: An evolutionary history of gene duplications and shifting patterns of gene expression. . Trends Plant Sci. 12: 358-367.

Sun, Y. Hord, C. L.H., Chen, C., Ma, H. 2007. Regulation of Arabidopsis early anther development by putative cell-cell signaling molecules and transcriptional regulators. J. Intg. Plant Biol. 49: 60-68.

Sun, Y., Zhou, X., Ma, H. 2007. Genome wide analysis of Kelch repeat-containing F-box family (KFB). J. Intg. Plant Biol. 49: 940-952.

Wijeratne, A.J., Ma, H. 2007. Genetic analyses of meiotic recombination in Arabidopsis. J. Intg. Plant Biol. 49: 1199-1207.

Wijeratne, A.J., Zhang, W., Sun, Y., Liu, W., Albert, R., Zheng, Z., Oppenheimer, D.G, Zhao, D., Ma, H. 2007. Differential gene expression in Arabidopsis wild-type and mutant anthers: Insights into cell differentiation and regulatory networks during anther development. Plant J. 52: 14-29.

Yao, X., Ma, H., Wang, J., Zhang, D. 2007. Genome-wide comparative analysis and expression pattern of TCP gene families in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa. J. Intg. Plant Biol. 49: 885-897.


Hord, C.L.H.*, Chen, C.*, DeYoung, B.J., Clark, S.E., Ma, H. 2006. The BAM1/BAM2 receptor-like kinases are important regulators of early Arabidopsis anther development. Plant Cell 18: 1667-1680. (* Equal contribution)

Hu, W., Ma, H. 2006. Characterization of a novel putative zinc-finger gene MIF1: involvement in multiple hormonal regulation of Arabidopsis development. Plant J. 45: 399-422. (cover)

Li, W., Ma, H. 2006. Double-strand DNA breaks and gene functions in meiosis and recombination. Cell Res . 16: 402-412.

Lin, Z., Kong, H., Nei, M.*, Ma, H.* 2006. Origins and evolution of the recA/RAD51 gene family: Evidence for ancient gene duplication and endosymbiont gene transfer. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 103: 10328-10333. (* corresponding authors)

Ma, H. 2006. A molecular portrait of Arabidopsis meiosis. In The Arabidopsis Book . (Eds. Somerville, C.R., Meyerowitz, E.M., Dangl, J., and Stitt, M.), American Society of Plant Biologists, Rockville , MD , doi/10.1199/tab.0009, http://www.aspb.org/publications/arabidopsis/

Wijeratne, A.*, Chen, C.*, Zhang, W.*, Timofejeva, L., Ma, H. 2006. The Arabidopsis thaliana PARTING DANCERS gene encoding a novel protein is important for normal homologous recombination. Mol . Biol . Cell 17 : 1331-1343. (* Equal contribution)

Zahn, L. M., Leebens-Mack, J., Arrington, J. M., Hu, Y., Landherr, L.L., dePamphilis, C. W., Becker, A., Theissen, G., and Ma, H. 2006. Conservation and divergence in the AGAMOUS subfamily of MADS-box genes: Evidence for independent sub- and neofunctionalization events. Evol. Dev . 8: 30-45. (cover)

Zhang, W.*, Sun, Y.*, Timofejeva, L., Chen, C., Grossniklaus, U., Ma, H. 2006. Control of Arabidopsis tapetum development by DYSFUNCTIONAL TAPETUM 1 (DYT1) encoding a putative bHLH transcription factor. (* Equal contribution) Development , 133: 3085-3095.

Cui, L., Wall, P.K., Leebens-Mack, J., Lindsay, B.G., Soltis, D.E., Doyle, J.J., Soltis, P.S., Carlson, J., Arumuganathan, A., Barakat, A., Albert, V., Ma, H., dePamphilis, C.W. 2006. Widespread genome duplications throughout the history of flowering plants. Genome Res . 16: 738-749. (cover)

Duarte , J.M., Cui, L., Wall, K., Zhang, Q., Zhang, X., Leebens-Mack, J., Ma, H., Altman, N., dePamphilis, C.W. 2006. Expression pattern shifts following duplication indicative of subfunctionalization and neofunctionalization in regulatory genes of Arabidopsis. Mol. Biol. Evol. 23: 469-478.

Hamant, O., Ma, H., Cande, Z.W. 2006. Genetics of meiotic prophase I in plants. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 57: 267-302. (Invited review)

Li, C., Liang, Y., Chen, C., Li, J., Xu, Y., Xu, Z., Ma, H., Chong, K. 2006. Cloning and expression analysis of TSK1, a wheat SKP1 homologue, and functional comparison with Arabidopsis ASK1 in male meiosis and auxin signaling. Functional Plant Biol. 33: 381-390.

Ru, P., Xu, L., Ma, H., Huang, H. 2006. Plant fertility defects induced by the enhanced expression of microRNA167. Cell Res. 16: 457-465.

Wang, X., Ni, W., Ge, X.*, Zhang, J., Li, N., Ma, H.*, Cao, K. 2006. Proteomic identification of potential target proteins regulated by an ASK1-mediated proteolysis pathway. Cell Res. 16: 489-498. (* Corresponding authors)


Chen, C.*, Zhang, W.*, Timofejeva, L., Gerardin, Y., Ma, H . 2005. The Arabidopsis ROCK-N-ROLLERS gene encodes a homolog of the yeast ATP-dependent DNA helicase MER3 and is required for normal meiotic crossover formation. Plant J . 43 : 321-334. (* equal contribution)

Li, W., Yang, X., Lin, Z., Timofejeva, L., Makaroff, C., Ma, H . 2005. The AtRAD51C gene is required for normal meiotic chromosome synapsis and double-stranded break repair in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol . 138 : 965-976.

Ma, H . 2005. Molecular genetic analysis of microsporogenesis and microgametogenesis. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol. 56 : 393-434.

Zahn, L. M.*, Kong, H.*, Leebens-Mack, J., Kim, S., Soltis, P.S., Landherr, L.L., Soltis, D.E., dePamphilis, C. W., Ma, H . 2005. The evolution of the SEPALLATA subfamily of MADS-box genes: A pre-angiosperm origin with multiple duplications throughout angiosperm history. Genetics 169 : 2209-2223 . (* equal contribution)

Zhang, X., Feng, B., Zhang, Q., Zhang, D., Altman, N., Ma, H . 2005. Genome-wide expression profiling and identification of gene activities during early flower development in Arabidopsis . Plant Mol. Biol . 58 : 401-419.

Albert, V.A., Soltis, D.E., Carlson, J.E., Farmerie, W.G., Wall, P.K., Ilut, D.C., Mueller, L.A., Landherr, L.L., Hu, Y., Buzgo, M., Kim , S., Yoo, M.-J., Frohlich, M.W., Perl-Treves, R., Schlarbaum, S.E., Bliss, B., Zhang, X., Tanksley, S., Oppenheimer, D.G., Soltis, P.S., Ma, H. , dePamphilis, C.W., Leebens-Mack, J.H. 2005. Floral gene resources from basal angiosperms for comparative genomics research. BMC Plant Biology . http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2229/5/5 .

Ambrose, J. C., Li, W. Marcus, A., Ma, H ., Cyr. R. 2005. A minus-end directed kinesin with +TIP activity is involved in spindle morphogenesis. Mol. Biol. Cell , 16 :1584-1592.

Kim, S., Koh, J., Ma, H ., Hu, Y., Endress, P., Hauser, B., Soltis, P.S., Soltis, D.E. 2005. Sequence and expression studies of A-, B-, and E-class MADS-box genes in Eupomatia (Eupomatiaceae): Support for the bracteate origin of the calyptra. Intl . J . Plant Sci . 166 :185-198. (cover)

Kim, S., Koh, J., Yoo, M.-J., Kong, H., Hu, Y., Ma, H . Soltis, P.S., Soltis, D.E . 2005. Expression of flo ral MADS-box genes in basal angiosperms: Implications on evolution of floral regulators and the perianth . Plant J . 43 : 724-744. (cover)

Zahn, L. M., Leebens-Mack, J., dePamphilis, C. W., Ma, H ., Theissen, G. 2005. To B or not to B a flower: the role of DEFICIENS and GLOBOSA orthologs in the evolution of the angiosperms. J . Hered . 96 : 225-240.


Kong, H.-Z., Leebens-Mack, J., Ni, W., dePamphilis, C. W., Ma, H . 2004. Highly heterogeneous rates of evolution in the SKP1 gene family in animals and plants: functional and evolutionary implications. Mol. Biol. Evol . 21 : 117-128.

Li, W., Chen, C., Markmann-Mulisch, U., Timofejeva, L., Schmelzer, E., Ma, H .*, and Reiss, B.* 2004. The Arabidopsis RAD51 gene is dispensable for vegetative growth but required for meiosis . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101 : 10596-10601. (* Corresponding authors)

Liu, F.*, Ni, W.*, Griffith , M.E. *, Huang, Z., Peng, W., Ma, H .#, Xie, D.# 2004. ASK1 and ASK2 genes are essential for Arabidopsis early development. Plant Cell 1 6 : 5-20. (* equal contribution; # corresponding authors)

Ma, H . Arabidopsis thaliana genetics. 2004. In Genetics . Virtual Text (http://www.ergito.com/index.jsp)

Ni, W., Xie, D., Hobbie, L., Feng, B., Zhao, D., Akkara, J., Ma, H . 2004. Regulation of flower development in Arabidopsis by SCF complexes. Plant Physiol. 134 : 1574-1585.

Wang, G.*, Kong, H.*, Sun, Y.*, Zhang, X., Zhang, W., Altman, N., dePamphilis, C. W., Ma, H . 2004. Genome-wide analysis of cyclin family in Arabidopsis and comparative phylogenetic analysis of plant cyclin-like proteins. Plant Physiol . 135 : 1084-1099. (* equal contribution)

Yang, X., Ma, H .*, Makaroff, C.* 2004. Characterization of an unusual Ds transposable element in Arabidopsis thaliana : evidence for insertion by a circular transposition intermediate. Plant Mol. Biol . 55 : 905-917. (* Corresponding authors)

Buzgo, M., Soltis, D. E., Soltis, P. S., Ma, H . 2004. Towards a comprehensive integration of morphological and genetic studies of floral development. Trends Plant Sci . 9 : 164-173.

Nam, J., Kim, J., Lee, S., An, G., Ma, H ., Nei, M. 2004. Type I MADS-box genes have experienced faster birth-and-death evolution than type II MADS-box genes in angiosperms. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA . 100 : 1910-1915.


Hu, W., Wang, Y., Bowers, C., Ma, H . 2003. Isolation, sequence analysis, and expression studies of florally expressed genes in Arabidopsis . Plant Mol. Biol. 53 : 545-563.

Yang, X.-H., Makaroff, C.*, Ma, H .* 2003. The Arabidopsis MALE MEIOCYTE DEATH1 gene encodes a PHD-finger protein that is required for male meiosis. Plant Cell 15 : 1281-1295. (*# corresponding authors)

Zhao, D.*, Ni, W.*, Feng, B., Han, T., Petrasek, M.G., Ma, H . 2003. Members of the Arabidopsis-SKP1-like gene family exhibit a variety of expression patterns and may play diverse roles in Arabidopsis . Plant Physiol. 133 : 203-217. (* equal contribution)

Zhao, D., Han, T., Risseeuw, E. P., Crosby, W. L., Ma, H . 2003. Conservation and divergence of ASK1 and ASK2 gene functions during male meiosis in Arabidopsis thaliana . Plant Mol. Biol. 53 : 163-173.

Marcus, A.I. Li, W., Ma, H ., Cyr, R.J. 2003. A kinesin mutant with an atypical bipolar spindle in mitosis undergoes normal cell division. Mol. Biol. Cell . 14 :1717-1726.

Nam, J., dePamphilis, C. W., Ma, H ., Nei, M. 2003. Antiquity and evolution of the MADS-box gene family controlling flower development in plants. Mol. Biol. Evol . 20 : 1435-1447.

Zhang, S., Raina, S., Li, H., Li, J., Dec, E., Ma, H ., Huang, H., Fedoroff, N.V. 2003. Resources for targeted insertional and deletional mutagenesis in Arabidopsis . Plant Mol. Biol . 53 : 133-150.

Azumi, Y., Liu, D., Zhao, D., Li, W., Wang, G., Hu, Y., Ma, H. 2002. Homolog interaction during meiotic prophase I in Arabidopsis requires the SOLO DANCERS gene encoding a novel cyclin-like protein. EMBO J . 21 : 3081-3095.

Chen, C., Marcus, A., Li, W., Hu, Y., Vielle Calzada, J.-P., Grossniklaus, U., Cyr, R., Ma, H . 2002. The Arabidopsis ATK1 gene is required for spindle morphogenesis in male meiosis. Development , 129 : 2401-2409. (cover)

Zhao, D.-Z., Wang, G.-F., Speal, B., Ma, H . 2002. The EXCESS MICROSPOROCYTES1 gene encodes a putative leucine-rich repeat receptor protein kinase that controls somatic and reproductive cell fates in the Arabidopsis anther. Genes & Dev . 16 : 2021-2031.

Soltis, D.E., Soltis, P.S., Albert, V. A., dePamphilis, C. W., Frohlich, M., H. Ma, Theissen, G. 2002. Missing links: the genetic architecture of the flower and floral diversification. Trends Plant Sciences 7 : 22-31.

Xu, L., Liu, F., Lechner, E., Genschik, P., Crosby, W. L., Ma, H ., Peng, W., Huang, D., Xie, D. 2002. The SCFcoi1 ubiquitin-ligase complexes are required for jasmonate response in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 14 : 1919-1935.

Zhao, D., Yu, Q. Chen, M., Ma. H . 2001. The ASK1 gene regulates B function gene expression in cooperation with UFO and LEAFY in Arabidopsis. Development . 128 : 2735-2746.

Zhao, D., Yu, Q., Chen, C., Ma, H . 2001. Genetic control of reproductive meristems. In: Meristematic Tissues in Plant Growth and Development . (Eds. McManus, M.T. and Veit, B.) Sheffield Academic Press. Sheffield . pp.89-142.

Ma, H ., dePamphilis, C. 2000. The ABCs of floral evolution. Cell 101 : 5-8.

Yang, M., Hu, Y., Lodhi, M., McCombie, W. R., Ma, H . 1999. The Arabidopsis SKP1-LIKE1 gene is essential for male meiosis and may control homologue separation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA . 96 : 11416-11421.

Zhao, D., Yang, M., Solava, J., Ma, H . 1999. The Arabidopsis ASK1 gene regulates vegetative and floral development and interacts with UFO to control floral organ identity. Develop. Genet. 25 : 209-223.

Lev, S., Sharon, A., Hadar, R., Ma, H, Horwitz, B. A. 1999. A MAP kinase of the corn pathogen Cochliobolus heterostrophus involved in conidiation, appressoria formation and pathogenecity: diverse roles of MAPK homologs in foliar pathogens. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 96:13542-13547.

Ma, H. 1997. The on and off of floral regulatory genes. Cell 89: 821-824.

Mizukami, Y., Ma, H. 1997. Determination of Arabidopsis floral meristem identity by AGAMOUS. Plant Cell 9: 393-408.

Huang, H., Tudor, M., Su, T., Zhang, Y., Hu, Y., Ma, H. 1996. DNA-binding properties of two Arabidopsis MADS-domain proteins: binding consensus and dimer formation. Plant Cell 8: 81-94.

Mizukami, Y., Huang, H., Tudor, M., Hu, Y., Ma, H. 1996. Functional domains of the floral regulator AGAMOUS: characterization of the DNA-binding domain and analysis of dominant negative mutations. Plant Cell 8: 831-845.

Sundaresan, V., Springer, P., Volpe, T., Haward, S., Jones, J., Dean, C., Ma, H., Martienssen, R. 1995. Patterns of gene action in plant development revealed by enhancer trap and gene trap transposable elements. Genes & Dev. 9: 1797-1810.

Ma, H. 1994. The unfolding drama of flower development: recent results from genetic and molecular analyses. Genes & Dev. 8: 745-756.

Weiss, C.A., Garnaat, C., Mukai, K., Hu, Y., Ma, H. 1994. Molecular cloning of cDNAs from maize and Arabidopsis encoding a G protein beta subunit. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 9554-9558.

Weiss, C.A., Huang, H., Ma, H. 1993. Immunolocalization of the G protein alpha subunit encoded by the GPA1 gene in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 5: 1513-1528.

Mizukami, Y., Ma, H. 1992. Ectopic expression of the floral homeotic gene AGAMOUS in transgenic Arabidopsis plants alters floral organ identity. Cell 71: 119-131.

Mandel, M.A., Bowman, J.L., Kempin, S.A., Ma, H., Meyerowitz, E.M., Yanofsky, M.F. 1992. Manipulation of flower structures in transgenic tobacco. Cell 71: 133-143.

Ma, H., Yanofsky, M.F., Meyerowitz, E.M. 1991. AGL1-AGL6, An Arabidopsis gene family with similarity to floral homeotic and transcription factor genes. Genes & Dev. 5: 484-495.

Ma, H., Yanofsky, M.F., Meyerowitz, E.M. 1990. Molecular cloning and characterization of GPA1, a G protein alpha subunit gene from Arabidopsis thaliana. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 87: 3821-3825.

Yanofsky, M.F., Ma, H., Bowman, J.L., Drews, G.N., Feldmann, K., Meyerowitz, E.M. 1990. The protein encoded by the Arabidopsis homeotic gene agamous resembles transcription factors. Nature 346: 35-39.